PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS FOR PARENTS, PROFESSIONAL, CHILDREN & - - PDF document

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS FOR PARENTS, PROFESSIONAL, CHILDREN & TEENS DONNA SHEA, BA Workshops & Professional Development Seminars can easily be tailored or customized for your group. 2019 Speaker Fees are $600 for up to a two-hour workshop. Longer seminars can be arranged. BIO: Donna Shea, Founder of The Peter Pan Center for Social & Emotional Growth, is a social-emotional learning specialist, holding a degree in Behavioral Science from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Since

• pening the Peter Pan Center in 2002, she has worked to address the needs of families whose children are

struggling with behavior and social challenges. Donna brings 32 years of life experience to her work as a parent of two sons with ADHD, Anxiety and Sensory Integration Challenges. Donna is a consultant to schools, parent groups, and human service agencies. She is also a seasoned public speaker and travels to bring workshops and seminars to groups and venues outside the local area. She has certifications in Cognitive Behavioral Coaching, Positive Psychology and Bullying Prevention. Donna is also the co-writer of the How to Make & Keep Friends book series. WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS Emotionally Challenging Children: What to Look for and How to Help (Creator: Donna Shea) A workshop for focused on potential challenges that a child has that may be contributing to disruptive behavior in the classroom, in extended daycare or at

• home. These are the A+ kids. Awesome, with a little extra “plus.” We will

explore possible signs of Anxiety, Attention Challenges, Anger & Mood Challenges, Avoidance, Autism Spectrum Disorders and more. Behavior: The Language of Children (Creator: Donna Shea) Children communicate through their behavior. Behavioral problems may

• ccur when we misunderstand what a child is trying to tell us. Adults may find

themselves continuously addressing the same behaviors and wondering why their child keeps repeating these behaviors. This workshop will help you to get under the behavior and discover what it is a child is trying to tell you. The workshop will provide simple, yet effective tools for managing behavior issues. We’ll explore the role of development, how to read a child’s temperament in the context of "too much, too little or just right" and share strategies to assist in better understanding the language of behavior. You’re Not the Boss of Me: Teaching a Child to be a Flexible Thinker by Being a Flexible-Thinking Adult (Creator: Donna Shea) You may notice the more you try to force an issue, the harder a child will fight

• back. In this workshop, we will discuss that fine line between necessary adult

authority and letting a child be their own person. We will discuss the importance of teaching children frustration tolerance and flexible thinking skills using a you-me-we method of problem solving. Participants will also learn creative problem-solving strategies as well as specific tips and language to use to decrease conflict and create a flexible-thinking environment.

Friendship & Social Coaching Helping Kids Make & Keep Friends (Co-Creators: Donna Shea & Nadine Briggs) This workshop explores the barriers to friendship that may be preventing a child from having positive peer relationships. We'll explore how to help a child recognize and overcome these barriers, the important role that adults play in social coaching and tips on how to teach children social independence and increase their social success. After School: The Learning Place for Social Skills (Creator: Donna Shea) Most of us of a certain age may remember coming home from school and being sent out to play until dinner time. With large shifts in our culture, including safety concerns, homework loads, structured activities and families with two working parents, most kids are no longer afforded this neighborhood in-the-trenches social learning experience. Social learning is now happening during recess periods and in after school programs. This workshop focuses on providing after school program personnel and other child-based program staff Donna's in-the-moment social coaching methodology to help children find social success and to navigate social challenges that occur for all kids. The workshop will introduce key phrases for social coaching children in-the-moment and provide actionable strategies to help children initiate, maintain and sustain positive peer interactions. Topics will include problem solving, sharing, frustration management, sportsmanship, tattling, managing mean behaviors and more. Problems & Solutions: Behavior Strategies for Extended Day & Childcare Providers (Creator: Donna Shea) This workshop provides extended day and other child caregivers with concrete strategies and solutions for common behavior problems. We will discuss how people can be problem creators, problem enhancers, problem victims and problem solvers. We will discuss problems and solutions in five different areas: behavior, anger, social skills, peers and respect. Behavior Begins with Respect (Co-Creators: Donna Shea & Nadine Briggs) Respect is a two-way street. In respecting children, their feelings and

• pinions, we model for them how to respect ours and those of other children.

This workshop will focus on helping adults teach children respectful ways to interact with others and ultimately create a more respectful school environment. Kindness Counts & Manners Matter (Creators: Donna Shea & Nadine Briggs). We all want other people to respect us, listen to us and use good manners. In this workshop, we focus on building a culture of kindness and good manners and discuss how that leads to creating mutual respect between adults and

• children. We talk about removing expectations that children must be friends

with each other, and provide strategies for supporting children in getting along, including each other, and more.

Surviving Adolescence: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast! (Creator: Donna Shea) In these workshops on adolescents, we will explore adolescent development and how this exciting, yet sometimes excruciating, process of growing up can impact those in its path. Surviving Adolescence will explore why teens become allergic to their parents, prefer the advice of other adults, and how boys and girls’ journey through adolescence is similar and different ways. We will talk about how to gain respect from a teen, tips for communication and collaboration, strategies for connecting with a teen as opposed to a younger child and how to avoid the traps teens set for us and the communication traps we set for ourselves. Just Do What I Say! Tips for Managing Conflict and the Need for Control (Creator: Donna Shea) Do you find yourself in frequent conflict with a child? In this workshop focused on frustration management, participants will gain a better understanding of why these conflicts occur and leave with easy actionable strategies to help with problem-solving skills and flexible thinking. We will discuss the rules about being angry, strategies to manage anger and power plays when they do occur, how to communicate and collaborate rather than retaliate, and develop more positive methods of interaction and discipline. Supporting the ADHD Child (Creator: Donna Shea) This workshop for will provide a soup to nuts view of AD/HD. We'll look at the different variations of attentional issues and explore whether or not it could be something else. We'll talk about the facts and myths about AD/HD and the effect an ADHD child has on the world around them. Treatment options will be discussed as well as providing straightforward strategies to help adults more effectively manage the impact of ADHD. Supporting the Anxious Child (Creator: Donna Shea) Anxiety in children can often present itself as a behavior problem. This workshop will explore anxiety in children and its impact on behavior. It will in learning how to recognize anxiety, the questions to ask and strategies to help a child manage their worries. We'll discuss the challenges of anxious children including rigid thinking, the need to control their environment and perfectionism. It’s Not Nice to Hit People: Understanding and Managing Aggression in Preschoolers (Creator: Donna Shea) In this workshop, we’ll discuss factors and facts about aggression in young

• children. We’ll briefly discuss temperament and how parenting/teaching

styles effect the way we handle aggression, and external factors contributing to aggressive behaviors. We’ll explore the steps to managing aggression in young children as well as strategies to help a young child to not become a victim of aggression.

Morning Madness & Bedtime Blues: Strategies for Those Challenging Times

• f the Day (Creator: Donna Shea)

This workshop focuses on building a tool kit to creatively manage the most difficult times of the day. We will talk about discipline as an educational tool, choosing battles and how to avoid common behavior issues. We will discuss strategies for helping children with transitions (particularly in the morning and at bedtime), managing tantrums and defiant behaviors, homework issues and dealing with children’s resistance to getting ready for school and going to bed. Siblings Have Special Needs Too (Creator: Donna Shea) Being the sibling of a child with specific needs or behavioral challenges can be

• difficult. It isn’t easy when your sibling demands more parent attention,

causes strife in the family or ruins fun plans or family outings with behaviors. The can also be a higher degree of conflict, fighting and aggression between

• siblings. Siblings may feel that they have to be the good one or act out to gain

parent attention. They may have worries about what is going on with their sibling or other unspoken anxieties. Siblings may also try to take on the role of parenting their brother or sister with specific needs. In this workshop, we will explore the nature of these sibling dynamics, discuss the needs for support of siblings of children with specific needs and offer strategies and solutions to support siblings in their often supportive but frequently difficult role. This is NOT What I Expected: Help for High Need Infants & Toddlers (Creator: Donna Shea) There are so many happy expectations when a baby arrives. What we don’t expect to have is a high-need baby or toddler. High need infants and toddlers don’t sleep well, seem impossible to soothe or satisfy, are demanding, intense and unpredictable (forget routines!) High need babies can create a feeling of failure as a parent or care provider. In this workshop, we will talk about understanding the high need infant and toddler, the role that sensory integration plays in high need children, a discussion about the “love but not like” relationship that may develop and strategies to support (and survive) a high need child. Building Bridges Between Home and School (Creator: Donna Shea) When you are a parent or educator of a child with learning, behavior or social challenges, the relationship between home and school is important, but can also be difficult. Each school year, we begin with high hopes. In this workshop, we will talk about common issues that arise between home and school, signals that things are falling apart, communication between parents and teachers, when and how to ask for an evaluation of a child’s learning process and how to work together instead of at odds.

My Senses Don’t Make Sense! Recognizing and Supporting Children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction (Creator: Donna Shea) Every human being has a sensory profile. Some of us are more sensitive to sound, others to smell. Some of us seek out sensory experiences and some of us avoid them. What do you do when a child’s sensory “overload” impacts their ability to comfortably access the things that are necessary for childhood

• r make it fun? In this workshop, we’ll look at kids with sensory challenges and

talk about strategies that help. We’ll also discuss how finding the services of,

• r talking to your school OT, can make a world of difference for a child who

senses don’t make sense. Maybe You Know This Kid? (Creator: Donna Shea) While all professionals who work with children know that each child is a unique and wonderful person, children in our schools or extended day programs may exhibit similar challenges. Wouldn’t it be great to share strategies that have worked for us to help other programs or pick the brains of

• ther child professionals about a child that we have tried “everything” for and

still bewilders us. This workshop will be held in a roundtable format, drawing

• n the expertise of all participants. Attendees will be asked to submit or bring

a case study for a brainstorming discussion. What is Your Peersonality? Evaluating Soft Skills in the Workplace (Creator: Donna Shea) This workshop focuses on soft skills (social skills) for adults in the workplace. In this workshop, we take a look at the different barriers that adults face and different personalities that play in to social success at work. Participants will fill out a profile to reflect on personal strengths and areas where social skills may be improved from an adult perspective. We also address teamwork, conflict resolution and problem-solving strategies. 1 in 88 (Now 1 in 68): The Rise of Autism in Children (Creator: Donna Shea) Autism diagnoses are on the rise. Chances are that you have one or more children on the autism spectrum in your preschool, classroom or school- related program. In this workshop for educators and other childcare providers, we will discuss the signs and signals of a child who may present with traits of an autism spectrum challenge or difficulty with social communication. We will focus on understanding the unique strengths of children on the spectrum and strategies for the areas where they may need support. Breaking Down the Barriers to Friendship (Creator: Donna Shea) This workshop for focuses on the social coaching methodology to help children find social success. The workshop will introduce key phrases for social coaching and provide immediately actionable strategies to help kids overcome specific barriers to friendship including anger management, sportsmanship problems, inflexibility, shyness, over-silly interactions, and more.

It's A Jungle (Gym) Out There: Tips for Managing Behavior for School Helpers (Creator: Donna Shea) Recess aides, lunch aides, bus drivers and paraprofessionals at school are frequently faced with challenging behaviors during the course of a school day. In this workshop specifically for the school helpers who interact with children during the more unstructured times of day, we'll discuss the different reasons that kids misbehave, how to manage those behaviors effectively and to build mutual respect between adults and children at school. Shshh!…This Is the Library: How to Deal with Clients and Customer Challenging Public Behaviors Quite often employees of public places experience the need to service clients and customers that may exhibit challenging behaviors. In this workshop, we will discuss how to look beyond the actual behavior to what need the client may actually have and tips and strategies to help defuse client behaviors or challenging situations. WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN & TEENS Getting the Mads Out: Anger Management Skills for Kids (Creator: Donna Shea) In this workshop, children will learn that anger is okay. We will explore how to recognize the physical signs of anger when there is still time to choose your

• reaction. We will discuss the rules for being angry and safe and creative ways

to handle angry feelings and provide specific words that kids can use when angry and learn more effective problem solving techniques. Good Sports Always Win (Creator: Donna Shea) The ability to be a good sport is key to social success for children. In this workshop, we discuss ten important tips on being a good sport and how to apply them. Participants will also leave with greater insight on why sportsmanship is such a vital piece to friendship, as well as have an

• pportunity to practice sportsmanship skills in real-time through playing

elimination games. Help Me Get My Mom off My Back: Organization & Time Management Tricks for Tweens & Teens (Creator: Donna Shea) In this workshop geared for middle and high school kids, we'll take a look at the benefits to teens for being organized (more time for your friends or computer) and tricks and tips for organization and time management. We'll look at why people procrastinate, why the push method that parents often use to get their teens motivated doesn't work and that there are only two things to organize: time and stuff.

Bully Busting & Managing Meanies (Co-Creators: Donna Shea & Nadine Briggs) This workshop for elementary school children focuses on preventing bullying before it begins. We will discuss the important difference between bullying and conflict. Kids will learn strategies to stick up for themselves, how to help someone else who is being bullied, language to use when someone is being mean, conflict resolution skills, the difference between tattling and telling, sticking out versus blending in and social self-confidence. The Maze of Middle School: Peers, Popularity & Social Power Plays (Co-Creators: Donna Shea & Nadine Briggs) This workshop for middle school students focuses on the specific challenges of this age and stage at school. Tweens and young teens will learn that many of the challenges they are facing are all a normal part of middle school. We will discuss ways to handle the challenges of flip-flop friends, peer pressure and the school cafeteria. We also explore ways to build confidence, stick up for yourself and preventing yourself from becoming a victim of bullying. High School Social Trivia (Co-Creators: Donna Shea & Nadine Briggs) This workshop for high school students focuses on social aspects of high school and young adulthood. In a fun, game show format, we present students with thoughts and strategies for peer pressure, relationships, the future (college and employment), dealing with conflict and bullying situations and online and texting safety and etiquette.